NORTH CENTRAL REGION HAWK



EMERGENCY SERVICES HAWK

Vol.2, Issue 4 Civil Air Patrol August 2003

To Be Ready, Responsive, and Relevant

Dedication

This issue is dedicated to a friend of ours within the North Central Region, who passed away June 14, 2003. LTC Terry Curry of the Iowa Wing served in both the Iowa and Nebraska Wings as a valued ‘ground pounder’, with most of his CAP career working diligently in Cadet Programs. He was always a good troop to have around, and he will be missed greatly. His dedication to the organization should be a model for us all. I will miss him a lot.

Bruce Marxsen, Col.-CAP, Editor: NCR Hawk

NCR- Director of Emergency Services

SEMPER VI

Mentor

In Greek mythology, King Odysseus of Ithaka approached his close friend Mentor before departing for Troy and his subsequent siege of that famous city. He asked Mentor to take over the role of advisor and teacher to his son Telemachus during his absence. The exploits of Odysseus are documented in Homer’s brilliant and formidable works the 'Illiad' and the 'Odyssey'. It is reported that upon his return Odysseus found that Telemachus had become a great leader, respected and revered throughout Ithaka. Mentor had done his job well.

Although its origins are from Greek mythology, the term 'mentor' has become to mean, 'a person looked upon for wise advice and guidance'. How often do we find ourselves talking of the past and how certain events and people shaped our careers? You can probably identify someone from your past that took you 'under his or her wing', and showed you how to do the job right. Maybe it was done with humor and cajoling, or with endless 'war stories', or valuable discussions before, during, and after a mission. Someone always seemed to be there, with 'words of wisdom' and a way to keep things in proper perspective. These people were your mentors.

It should be the your goal as an experienced CAP member to find your successor; an individual dedicated to learning what you know, yet capable of taking your knowledge and experience to the next level. Someone to become better than we are, because you helped them find the way to 'do it right'. Upon writing this, I find myself thinking about my mentors, and how much they taught me. There is Jim and Earle… Chuck and Jack… Rod… Carol… Rocky… Jerry and Joe… Jon… Bill… Ward… Harold and Bob. The list could be endless. How do I repay them for what they did for me? It is possible that I already have. Maybe they have learned some from me. I hope so. This exchange should not stop here. We need to repay them in the way as Odysseus expected of Mentor. We must find the people who will be doing 'our' job 10-20 years from now. Members who will not only do the job 'right', but also they will be doing it better than we ever thought possible.

Where do we find them? Do we have anyone around who can take on this great undertaking? We will find them at every meeting and every exercise. They are the cadets and seniors who ask us questions and expect brilliant answers; instead of the dumb looks and blank stares we often give them. They are the members who ask us about 'the great blizzard mission of 1987', and we regale them with our slightly exaggerated accounts of what really happened. Energetic, mental sponges surround us, waiting to learn more. If asked, we need to make the most of every opportunity to educate them with everything we know. Our replacements are already here, waiting for the chance to perform and make us proud. We already have the Kiras, the Walts, the Cales, the Bryans and the Shawns. They are going to get even better, if we help them.

Who has been your mentor? Who will you be a mentor to? You cannot ask the first question, without asking the second one, too. It is called 'passing the torch'. It is really human evolution.

POINT OF CARE

Critical Incident Stress Management

The concept of Critical incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) was introduced into our organization through our Chaplain’s Corps a few years back. CISD was a tool to debrief those individuals and teams that were in obvious distress, and used for crisis intervention. In recent years following the aftermath of 11-September 2001, the stress management of emergency responders has been looked at more closely with more data to draw from regarding the mental health of emergency responders. From the work done by Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell in 1983 and 1988, and further expanded with Dr. George S. Everly in 1997 (‘Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Operations Manual’), a multidimensional crisis intervention system was proposed. The positive effects of the CISM program were validated in the post 11-September, 2001 recovery when thousands of emergency responders were evaluated for critical incident stress as well as those who experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A new system consisting of ten crisis intervention components is now suggested in a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) system. This multidimensional stress management program is now strongly suggested for all emergency response programs, including those of the Air Force Auxiliary. There is a strong move now within our operations to include the practice of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) routinely in all mission activity. Anyone who has worked a mission with real search, rescue and recovery operations will likely agree to the need.

The core Critical Incident Stress Management components* are listed below:

1. Pre-crisis preparation- in anticipation of a crisis to set expectations; improve coping skills and the management of stress.

2. Demobilization of responders- as indicated by the size and extent of the response at the end of a shift or response period; to inform, consult, allowing psychological decompression, and the management of stress.

3. Crisis Management Briefings for the Public- at anytime post-crisis; to inform, consult, allowing psychological decompression, and the management of stress.

4. Defusing- usually within 12 hours post-crisis as driven by symptoms; to provide triage, symptom mitigation, and possible closure.

5. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)- depending on the scope of the disaster, CISD from 1-10 days, to 3-4 weeks post-crisis as driven by symptoms or the extent of the disaster; to provide triage, symptom mitigation, and facilitate psychological closure.

6. Individual Crisis Intervention (One-on-One)- driven by symptoms, this can be done anytime or anywhere; to mitigate symptoms, to facilitate a return to function, and referral if necessary.

7. Family Critical Incident Stress Management- driven by symptoms or the scope and extent of the disaster, to be done at anytime; to provide communications, foster support, mitigate symptoms, facilitate closure, and referral if necessary.

8. Community/Organizational Consultation- driven by symptoms or the scope and extent of the disaster, to be done at anytime; to provide communications, foster support, mitigate symptoms, facilitate closure, and referral if necessary.

9. Pastoral Crisis Intervention- symptom driven, to be done anytime; to mitigate a ‘crisis of faith, and to use spiritual tools to assist in recovery.

10. Follow-up/Referral- usually symptom driven to be done anytime; to assess mental status and access higher level of care if necessary.

* Adapted from Mitchell and Everly, ‘Critical incident Stress Management: Basic Group Crisis Intervention’, 3rd Edition, revised 2003.

It is important to note that our emergency services operations and activities are stressful events. With properly trained teams from within our organization, critical incident stress and post-traumatic stress disorder could be avoided.

The following is a list identifying the most common symptoms of stress:

Headaches Irregular heartbeat

Muscle spasms Fatigue

Gastrointestinal problems Vertigo

High blood pressure Low blood pressure

Difficulty in concentrating Feeling overwhelmed

Anger, irritability Difficulty in falling asleep

Sadness, depression Increased appetite

Decreased appetite Rashes, hives

Feelings of helplessness Feelings of hopelessness

Apathy Cynicism, negativism

Have you ever had any of the above symptoms relating to an emergency services response? If you have, you could have benefited from CISM.

Those same stressors that may have caused the symptoms above, in an event outside of normal human experience can be markedly distressing, evoking reactions of fear with threats to your existence or someone you know. This then becomes a traumatic event that can overwhelm the usual human coping mechanisms, leaving you feeling out of control or helpless. This is called post-traumatic distress.

Post-traumatic stress can cause a syndrome with the following characteristic symptoms:

- Excessive excitability and arousal

- Dissociation

- Numbing withdrawal, and avoidance

- Repetitive, intrusive memories or recollections of the traumatic events

- Significant distress and/or dysfunction

- Panic attacks

- Depression

- Erratic behavior

- Memory dysfunction

- Symptoms lasting at least one month

If you are interested in learning more about Critical Incident Stress Management, or wish to participate in the 14-hour course training to become a CISM Team Member to assist our emergency services operations, contact the following website, to reach your Wing, Region, or National CISM Coordinator:



We as an organization have spent over 60 years in service to our communities, states, and nation. It is time now for us to focus our efforts on helping each other, so we can continue with that mission for others. CISM belongs within every emergency services activity conducted by the Air Force Auxiliary. It is as critical to the well being of our operations as air operations, ground operations, and communications.

CREW’S CONTROL

Situational Awareness

Emergency responders must develop an operational sense of direction and purpose. To control a situation, the responder must raise his or her decision-making performance. To raise the decision-making performance, the responder must limit the frictions of confusion, psychological effects, and the physical stress from the unexpected. The responder must have a continuous process of recognizing what is happening in the operational environment and adjust to the situation. This on going assessment of reality is often referred to as Situational Awareness.

Situational Awareness is-

➢ Conditioning and physical fitness to limit the affects of fatigue.

➢ Mental preparation for the inevitable, the probable, and the possible.

➢ Learning something from every experience and expanding comfort zones.

➢ A conscious practice of mental skills that will lead to unconscious and automatic behaviors, resulting in success under pressure of the actual performance.

➢ Defining a problem accurately, considering the available options and choosing a correct course of action.

➢ The constant and conscious thought process and behavior to identify or predict situations that will affect comfort or existence.

➢ The development of an individual preparedness attitude to avoid unnecessary situations.

➢ The habits of alertness, awareness, forethought, preparedness, and experience to cope with changing situations.

➢ A continuous assessment and accurate interpretation of reality.

How to obtain and increase situational awareness:

➢ Get into and maintain good physical conditioning

➢ Research and read as much pertinent operational information as possible

➢ Seek out experiences that will teach you something and expand your comfort zone.

➢ Practice anticipating and predicting the outcome of routine/everyday events based on current information.

➢ Make a practice of listening to weather forecasts and observe the environment as the weather changes.

➢ As you walk into rooms, facilities, and new buildings, develop mental pictures of what you would do if a crisis occurred at the moment you are standing there.

➢ Periodically during every sortie, ask yourself what you would do if your mission objective was before you at that moment; what you would need, how you would respond, and what problems you could anticipate.

➢ Practice multi-tasking to find limits to your abilities.

➢ Find alternate ways to travel to and from work or school, and practice them.

Applying Situational Awareness in Emergency Situations:

➢ Perception- take in the available facts

➢ Comprehension- place the facts in relation to your knowledge or experience of similar situations

➢ Projection- envision how the situation is likely to develop in the future

➢ Implication- evaluate how outside forces may affect your options

➢ Consideration- select your options and courses of action relative to the mission objective

➢ Prediction- process how your actions will affect the mission objectives

➢ Recognition- assess how complete and reliable your situational awareness is likely to be

The above aspects of situational awareness are not sequential. These occur simultaneously at the speed our minds routinely process all decisions. Situational Awareness is a dynamic mental process of perceiving, comprehending, and acting on events during a mission operation

ALCYONEUS NOW

Community Emergency Response Training- CERT

The Citizen Corps of the Emergency Services Directorate of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security sponsor the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program. Following a major disaster, it is not likely that a community’s emergency response professionals will be able to meet all of the immediate needs of the community. In a large-scale disaster, factors such as the number of victims, failure of communications, and disruption of utilities/transportation services will prevent communities from receiving the emergency support they have grown accustomed to. The nation-wide CERT program is designed to prepare and train citizens in how to help each other with immediate life threatening and life saving needs.

The CERT program has the following objectives:

1. Present the citizens with the facts about what to expect following a major disaster in terms of immediate needs and available services.

2. Provide the citizens the scope of their responsibility for mitigation and preparation.

3. Train the citizens with the necessary life-saving skills with an emphasis on decision making, rescuer safety, while doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

4. Organize teams so that they offer immediate help to victims until fire and medical services arrive.

The CERT Training is a 20-hour course consisting of seven modules:

1. Disaster Preparedness- addressing the hazards to which people are vulnerable in their communities, covering actions to be taken before, during, and after the disaster. The CERT concept of operating in a safe and appropriate manner is promoted.

2. Disaster Fire Suppression- covering fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards, and fire suppression strategies. The CERT concept is the safe use of fire extinguishers, sizing up the situation, controlling the utilities, and extinguishing a small fire.

3. Disaster Medical Operations, Part I- assessing the ABCs for airway, bleeding and controlling shock, simple triage, and rapid treatment techniques to save lives.

4. Disaster Medical Operations, Part II- evaluating patients with a proper head-to-toe medical survey, establishing a medical treatment area, and performing basic first aid in a safe, practical and sanitary manner.

5. Light Search and Rescue Operations- learning about urban search and rescue planning, size-up, search techniques, rescue techniques, with rescuer safety being paramount.

6. Disaster Psychology and Team Organization- covering signs and symptoms of stress in the disaster victim and responder, addressing the CERT Organization, documentation and management principles.

7. Course Review and Disaster Simulation- practicing the skills that they have learned during the modules to prepare them for a post-disaster response.

CERT is about people helping people, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. It is being ready to respond, with a positive and realistic approach to an emergency situation where the citizens may be on their own and their initial actions can make a difference. A CERT member is trained to manage utilities, put out small fires, save lives by controlling the medical ABCs, providing basic first-aid, search and rescue victims safely, and organize them into a spontaneous volunteer effort to assist the community until advance emergency response help arrives.

CERT Training is ideal for the Air Force Auxiliary membership. It provides the necessary disaster response training that we need to blend in with a community we are going to assist. It is well worth our time and effort to participate in this training, as it is also going to help you, your family, and your own community, if you are ever in the aftermath of a disaster.

The CERT Program is coordinated through the State Office of Emergency Management or Emergency Management Institute. For a CERT Coordinator in your area, or to make inquiries about the training and joining a team, telephone (301) 447-1071 or your local Emergency Manager.

THE ACE FACTOR

The Principles of Sortie Command

We send out operational aircrews and ground teams on mission sorties under the leadership of either a Pilot in Command or Ground Team Leader. Unfortunately, we have never really set training criteria for the leadership these positions will require. It can be assumed that the Pilot in Command (PIC) is responsible for the smooth and safe operation of a mission aircraft, as well as a Driver being responsible for the smooth and safe operation of a mission vehicle. To assume that those same people are to be in command of the mission sortie, is not as assured considering the additional responsibilities that accompany mission leadership. Three of the following human factors contribute heavily to accidents in operations:

• Task Saturation

• Distraction

• Channelized Attention

The above can occur if the tasks for crew or team safety, and mission success fall to the same person. As the situation rapidly changes during a sortie, the more likely an accident could occur.

It is recommended that the aircraft PIC and the vehicle Driver maintain responsibility for a stable and safe operational platform, while sortie decision making, problem solving, and resource management fall to a leadership role of Sortie Command. This splitting of mission responsibilities can cause great consternation for those who believe the aircraft PIC and vehicle Driver must remain in total control of the sortie command. An argument could and should be made that a single person with the combined responsibilities of safe flying/driving, decision making, problem solving, trouble shooting, interpreting data, communications, and crew/team coordination, is not going to be closely watching traffic, altitude, direction, and/or speed. In a more basic explanation, the PIC/Driver is the ‘tour bus driver’, and the Sortie Commander is the ‘tour director’. One has a responsibility for getting the ‘tour’ safely from point A to point B, and the other is responsible for the ‘tour group’ having a successful tour with all expectations being met. Should the ‘tour director’ suggest a side trip that could effect the safety of the ‘tour bus and tour group’, it is up to the ‘tour bus driver ‘ to insist on a less hazardous route or activity.

The bottom line is that with two members of a crew proactively monitoring the safety, mission progress, the flow of information and the situations associated with a mission sortie are better than only one. In some cases the PIC and the Driver must also be the Sortie Commander, due to a lack of sufficient personnel within the crew or team who are capable and qualified. In reality, an Observer with 15 years of mission experience assigned to an aircrew with a PIC with less than one year of mission experience would make for a better mission Sortie Commander.

With all that in mind, what are the criteria for Sortie Command? A Sortie Commander is an in-field, in-air or on-site commander of operations. An aircrew or ground team is dispatched with the best information available, and in most cases it is a ‘best guess’. Sometimes, the crews and teams are dispatched with limited information and expectations, with the dispatched units hoping to ‘discover’ a target or clues. The Sortie Commander must be the best in-field/in-air/on-site leader capable of adjusting to rapid change, problem solving, communicating, interpreting data, decision making, and situational awareness. None of which is currently taught or evaluated in PICs or Ground Team Leaders. Sortie Commanders must master the three C’s of Command: character, care of the crew, and competence. During the locate phase, things can happen quickly and a crew/team is going to look to the Sortie Commander for decisions to quickly coordinate the rescue phase of the operations, while still maintaining a high safety profile.

There are leadership essentials for becoming a good Sortie Commander:

➢ Maintain Integrity- Leadership is a trust. Trust that the needs of the crew/team will be met. Trust that safety will not be compromised. Trust in the leader to do the right thing for the crew and the mission, without thought of personal recognition.

➢ Know What You are Doing- No leader can know everything, but the more that is known about what you are responsible for, the better decisions can be made. Those things a leader can do should be done competently.

➢ Evaluate the Situation - A good leader will continue to evaluate the situation and focus in the proper direction or redirect the emphasis to remain safe and successful.

➢ Stating Expectations- Good leaders learn to state their expectations of the unit members, and set immediate and achievable goals. It is not just during pre-launch, but also during the mission, especially as the situation and circumstances change.

➢ Demonstrate Commitment- Unit members do not follow a leader who quits short of attaining a goal. It will be the good leader that decides to ‘find a way to be successful’. Commitment by a leader, gives confidence to the crew or team.

➢ Expect Positive Results- Even with high expectations of success, a good in-field leader may not meet them due to circumstances beyond his/her control. But, if you expect not to be successful, most assuredly that will be the outcome. There is no such thing as luck in a sortie; only knowledge, preparation and commitment.

➢ Taking Care of the Crew/Team- Good leaders meet the needs of the unit. This can be in the form of information input and feedback, or in the form of respect for their capabilities and followership. Without this, there will be no team unity.

➢ Duty Before Self- There are two components to duty; the mission and the people who work that mission. Sometimes the mission must come before the people, and at other times the people come before the mission. To a good leader, both will come before his or her personal interests.

Sortie Command is all the above, and maintaining competence in the individual tasks involved in operations. Sortie Command is the next step of improvement for all mission leaders.

SURVIVAL SENSE

How to Avoid Overheating

Overexertion in the heat of summer without adequate rest and rehydration, can lead to heat injury and possible fatal heatstroke. According to Rhonda Pomerantz, M.D., a clinical assistant professor at New York University, “If you overexert yourself with too much exercise or too much sun exposure- without adequate water intake and rest- your body can’t compensate”. The following are tips to keep cool:

- Consume the equivalent of nine 8-ounce glasses of water daily. If you are sweating heavily due to increased temperature and/or workload, you should increase your intake. The important thing to remember is to drink when your body indicates to you that it is thirsty. If the sweating has been profuse, it is suggested to include an electrolyte sports drink (ex. Gatorade) will help you rehydrate quickly and replace some vital electrolytes you may have lost in the sweat.

- After you have completed a strenuous workload, cool down slowly. Before sitting down, do a few body stretches to help loosen up and relax the muscles that may be deplete of the electrolytes they need for muscle relaxation. If you plop down immediately following strenuous activity, the body will have a tendency to tighten up and you will regret skipping the cooling down and stretch stage when you try to get up. Muscles cool down best when they have the opportunity to relax slowly.

- When your body is hot, drink water to satisfy your thirst. Do not deny yourself water. Take a sip of water whenever you have the desire. If you deny your body of water when it needs it, for a time when you can rest, relax and drink a lot of water all at once, you may have already caused heat injury to your body. Also, with drinking too much water at once, your system can become ‘water-logged’ and sometimes cause intestinal cramping. Intestinal cramping can debilitate you just as much as heat stroke.

- At anytime during the activity you feel faint or lightheaded, stop what you are doing immediately. Rehydrate as necessary and seek medical attention if the feeling does not go away. If you feel weak and lethargic, nauseated or hot, but have stopped perspiring you are at extreme risk for heat stroke and must seek medical attention immediately.

MISSION READY

Communications for Departure and Returning to Base

Tactical communications starts and ends with maintaining operational contact between mission base and the operational crew/team. Mission operations must always establish a communications plan to be presented to all responders before sortie assignments.

The Communications Plan should contain the following elements:

• Primary and secondary radio frequencies to be used for Base to Air, Base to Ground, Air to Air, Ground to Ground, and Air to Ground.

• Primary and secondary telephone numbers for Mission Base.

• Aerial ‘High Bird’ schedule of when aircraft will be on station, for how long, and monitoring what frequencies.

• Communications ‘check-in’ requirements.

• Return to Base communications.

When to Communicate to Base Communications:

Radio Check before departure

Upon departure for sortie

At assigned check-in times

After any change in mission status

Upon reaching mission sortie area

- When assistance is required

When locating search objective

Reporting status of victims

Immediately upon leaving the site

After arriving back on base

Aircraft and Vehicles are to never leave base without the following:

• Primary and secondary radio frequencies and base telephone numbers

• A radio check with base communications to verify working radios

• A communications ‘check-in’ plan

• A ‘return to base’ plan

Routine Check-In Plan-

Assigned at 30-60 minute intervals

The most recent contact counts as a check-in

2 consecutive check-ins missed initiates ‘contact search’ by all in-field units

3 consecutive check-ins missed begins an active search for ‘missing’ aircraft/vehicle

Return to Base Plan- Based on the Situation-

Mission Base Responsibilities:

Crew/Team misses two consecutive check-ins a radio ‘contact search’ will occur

Crew/Team missies three consecutive check-ins an active search is initiated

Crews/Team expected to return to base if out of contact for 90 minutes

If no contact after 90 minutes, return to base

Aircrew/Ground Team Responsibilities:

- When on extended assignment and communications have been broken.

If there is a reasonable certainty of success without endangering the team:

Continue mission, but keep trying to establish radio contact

If there is doubt or confusion of assignment, or uncertainty of success and/or safety:

• Return to base immediately, but keep trying to establish radio contact

Emergency Recall- In the event of a situation that over-rides the current mission:

• Mission Base will announce an “Emergency Recall-Return to Base”

• All units will break sortie objectives to return to base

• All units will acknowledge message receipt

• All units will return to base immediately

• All units will maintain periodic contact until back on base

Editor’s Comment: As in all procedures presented in this section, the above represents a point of view as a ‘best practice’ of many good practices. It is up to the reader to determine if the procedure should or should not be used in their operations.

DID YOU KNOW?

Preparing for West Nile Virus

Mosquitoes spread the West Nile Virus. Infections from the virus can cause severe and fatal illness. About 4000 cases identified in nation-wide annually. The symptoms of the viral infection are typically mild fever, body aches, or sore throat, occurring in only about 20% of the cases. Those symptoms usually disappear after several days. However, in the over-50 population, those symptoms can be more severe with a rapid onset of high fever, confusion, severe headache, stiff neck, or paralysis. There has been a fatality rate of about 6%, with half of the recorded deaths among the 77 and older age population. People 50 years and older appear to have a higher risk factor.

There is a lot you can do to reduce your chance of a West Nile Virus infection:

➢ Make a habit of using insect repellent with DEET when outdoors. Spray the repellent on the exposed skin and clothing.

➢ The prime mosquito hours are between dusk to dawn. Pay particular attention to protection during these hours while outdoors.

➢ Wear loose and light-colored clothing

GOING FROM GOOD TO GREAT

Adapting to Change

Change is all around us. We are living in a sea of change and there is nothing we can do to stop it. In order for us to adapt to change, we must first understand why change must occur in our lives.

• Change is inevitable, as we see in various forms of evolution.

• Change is necessary, as demonstrated in modernization.

• Change is emotional, because it gives us an unknown.

• Change is exciting as it presents us with challenges we need.

As we see from our management/leadership point of view, there are nine basic types of change over which we have little control, all or most occurring in every person’s life:

1. Our Health

2. Our Individual Growth

3. Personal Finances

4. Careers

5. Moving or Relocation

6. Interpersonal Relationships

7. Major Losses

8. Tasking

9. Standards of Performance

Today change happens more rapidly than ever before. Not all people are quick to embrace change. With every new initiative, some will put up real resistance, providing a barrage of reasons why there should or should not be change. Managers and leaders must be on the alert for resistance, cynicism, or foot-dragging, while still respecting the real concern the people have for the change. A good manager and leader must be able to apply the best strategies for innovative change.

The major reason people resist change is fearing the unknown. The element of a surprise in a proposed change can be shocking, so it is not surprising that the first reaction to change is often resistance. Fortunately, keeping the people informed and involving them in the planning and/or implementation process can mostly alleviate this fear. Another barrier to change is the fear of obsolescence, where people feel that the change will make their skills and competencies obsolete. This fear can be negated by instituting training programs to help the people better understand the change and to develop new skills.

Research has shown that people respond more positively to change if they feel they have some control over what is happening. The following are ways to help people overcome resistance:

• Communicate- Be honest and direct, explaining the need and how it will affect them. Reassure- Listen patiently to their fears and do your best to alleviate them. Validate their feelings with agreement or empathy.

• Empower- People respond more positively to change if they feel they have some control over what is happening. The more they get involved, the more confidence they will have.

• Be Patient- Change should not be implemented until everyone knows what to expect and has had a chance to express concerns.

There is no denying that change can stir up fears and emotions that lead to resistance. But, by recognizing these barriers a good manager can facilitate meaningful change.

CHECK IT OUT!

If you are interested in learning more about disaster relief and emergency preparedness, I encourage you to check out this web site for information that covers the entire gamut of potential natural disasters that can befall the United States. It is another home-study course that you can take on line, or download and submit your answers to a final exam at a more convenient time. With a submission of the final exam and a passing grade of 70% or greater you will earn a FEMA Certificate at no cost.



‘Emergency Preparedness, USA’

Words of Wisdom- Coffee Cup Leadership Advice from the Military Pros

The best way to take a bridge is from both sides at once.

How can you find time to do it over, if you cannot find time to do it right in the first place?

Fundamentals are those things you hold on to when the tactical situation turns to sh_t and you don’t have time to think about what to do.

It is wise to kill your bear before you talk of skinning it. (from an old U.S. Cavalry saying)

FAMOUS QUOTES

A "well done" is better than a 'well said'. (Benjamin Franklin)

SUBMISSIONS

Queries, suggestions, and news items are welcome. Please submit to the following addresses:

Mail: Bruce Marxsen E-mail: dos@ncr.

5231 Topaz Crt.

Lincoln, NE 68516

The next issue of the ‘Emergency Services Hawk’ will be sent out on or about 15-October-2003. Please have information you would like to be considered in that issue to my attention no later than 01-October-2003.

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